The Eagles needed this kind of performance as quarterback Jalen Hurts and the passing game failed to really find a rhythm at any point in the game.

Here are four other takeaways from Thursday’s game.

Eagles’ defensive turnaround continues

The Eagles are officially on a roll, and one of the biggest factors in their climb back to the top of the NFC East has been their defense’s remarkable turnaround in a year.

After finishing 30th in the NFL a year ago and playing a significant role in their second-half collapse, the Eagles entered the game Thursday night with the Defense #5 in the championship this season. They played like that against Washington, completely shutting down what had been one of the premier offenses in the NFL.

The most impressive part of their performance was how they completely shut down and eliminated star receiver Terry McLaurin, limiting him to just one catch for 10 yards on just two targets.

In the end, they limited the Commanders’ offense to just 264 total yards, just 18 first downs, and just 18 points.

Entering their Week 10 matchup, the Commanders were averaging 29 points and over 392 yards per game. Over the last two games, they have averaged less than 250 yards and have scored just 43 points total.

Jayden Daniels doesn’t look good

The competition has become much tougher for Daniels over the past two weeks, and he has played like a rookie in these games.

After completing just 17 of 34 passes for just 202 yards a week ago in a 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Daniels was even worse this week against the Eagles.

He finished the game 22 for 32 for just 191 yards, with his only touchdown coming less than 30 seconds from time when Washington was already down by 16 points.

This was also the second week in a row where he was completely a non-factor in the running game.

Is it because he played back-to-back outstanding defenses? The rib injury from a few weeks ago still bothering him? A combination of the two factors? Regardless, Daniels hasn’t looked like the same quarterback he was earlier in the season, and until he gets back to that level, the Commanders will have a hard time getting back to their winning ways.

The Eagles might have a kicking problem

The only negative for the Eagles on Thursday night was the poor performance of kicker Jake Elliott. The usually reliable Elliott missed more kicks than the Eagles are used to seeing from him, and he had a terrible night Thursday, missing two field goals, an extra point and barely sneaking another extra point inside the goal posts.

That’s seven points he left on the field. It didn’t hurt the Eagles in this game, but in a closer game it could have been costly.

Commanders are still learning to win

The Commanders are one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, and that remains the case even after back-to-back losses. But what these two losses showed us is that this team is still young, still rebuilding and still learning how to win consistently in the NFL. Especially when the competition improves.

They had a 10-point second-half lead against Pittsburgh a week ago and couldn’t close out the game. They appeared to be in control of Thursday’s game in the first half and had a chance to take a 13-12 lead midway through the fourth quarter if they had kicked a 45-yard field goal. Instead of taking those three points, they tried to go for fourth-and-2 and were stuffed in part due to a mishandled snap.

From that point on, the Eagles completely took over and scored 14 straight points. These are games that championship teams must win. The commanders certainly make a good team. Maybe even a very good one. They still have room to grow.